Composing with loops - I just don't get it

New Member

I"m new to working with loops. So, say you want to write a blues piece. I start by getting a nice loop of blues drums. So far so good. Next, I find a loop for bread & butter bass and that's when my troubles start. How do I make the loop to play in C, then switch to F, G, etc.?

Is loop-based composition meant to be to put together what's in the library?

Logician

Yes, I used it when it was new (was that Logic 7?). Worked well if paying attention to major vs minor character of the loops you transpose. Today I think it's just too slow and tedious. Most parts come out better if you simply play them.

I favor green apple loops and unpack them to re-sequence and adapt notes here and there.

Since I want to 1; Change the harmonic rhythm of the B section and 2, use more chord changes, I'm going to have to sequence this section using all midi, correct?

So, my question is. Does it make sense to have different sections going from audio to midi and back using the same instrumentation? If so, how does one maintain continuity (in terms of the sound/feel of the instruments) ?

Logician

Try using Green Apple Loops! Drop them on an Instrument Track to have them unpacked into the original instrument, plugins and MIDI regions. Then you can simply edit the MIDI region to make it match whatever major vs minor chord you have in mind. With this workflow the actual library loop is just the initial spark for your imagination; you may rework the loop as much as you like to go into a slightly different direction.

Logician

- Blue Apple Loops can only be dropped on an Audio Track.
- Green Apple Loops can be dropped on both Audio- and Instrument Tracks and then behave accordingly.
- Green Apple Loops that are dropped on an Audio Tracks behaves just like Blue Apple Loops (audio).
- Green Apple Loops that are dropped on an Instrument Tracks are being "unpacked" to allow the user to edit anything that created the original loop (like I described above).

So you may actually drop both Blue and Green Apple Loops on an Audio Track, but then you lose out on all extended options offered by the Green Apple Loops format.